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Winch power cable routing?

Andy29847

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To get from winch (mine is Apex 12000) to battery area - what's the route most are using to get from A (winch) to B (Battery) ?
I see no direct route that I'm really happy with.
Right now the ground and pos cable are hanging under the truck, waiting for me to run them up a hidden, safe route to the battery.
(I WILL be using the disconnect switch supplied with the winch but STILL want to protect the cables and have them NEAT - remember, I do show cars, so neat counts for me and my OCD)
I routed along the outside of the passenger side frame rail, mostly behind the inner fender and up through the space by the airbox. I didn't have to remove anything to route the cable. I installed the disconnect between the battery and the fender well. I used a piece of 3m tape to secure it to the side of the fender. It wasn't moving without the tape but it seemed like a good idea. Following info I found on this forum, I moved the cable on the winch from the back to the side of the control box too. I didn't like the cable rubbing on my grill.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/apex-winch-mod-move-positive-cable.38243/
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Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? 20201017_135923_HDR


I didn't remove anything at all to route the cable in the end. I put a light under and above the engine bay and sought out the route I wanted, ran a wire down where I figured it would work, and along the frame up to the winch.

I modified the cable a bit to make it bend better along the lines I wanted it to, added a clamp to hold it in place. It doesn't touch the grill, it's a good 1/4-3/8" away from the grill so it won't rub

Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? 20201015_170039_HDR


Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? 20201014_161828_HDR
 

mazeppa

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Curious how much pull time/usage you have with the OEM battery? Assuming a winch can drain the battery quickly.
 

Blade1668

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Curious how much pull time/usage you have with the OEM battery? Assuming a winch can drain the battery quickly.
You probably don't want to try running the winch full out for more than a few minutes then letting it "rest" to cool down and recharge the battery. One of the advantages of running a 10-12k winch over a 8-9.5k is less load on battery and winch.
The normal was 1.5 times the weight of vehicle as a general rule now it seems to be 2-2.5 times vehicle weight as normal.
 

ShastaJT6

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I just did mine along the the inside of the grill. There’s almost a channel for it on the sport grills.
Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? 20201014_161828_HDR
This image was pretty helpful. Once I got to the jeep I could see the "Channel" in that area and was able to route the harness for my winch through there. I used a plastic strap from the box the winch came in as a wire fish to get it through.

Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? KIMG2016.JPG
Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? KIMG2019.JPG
 

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ShadowsPapa

ShadowsPapa

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Curious how much pull time/usage you have with the OEM battery? Assuming a winch can drain the battery quickly.
It helps as the engine would be running..........
I know with my old trucks when I ran winch or a hydraulic pump for a hoist, you have a knob to pull to give the engine some RPMs - run it at a fast idle.
When jumping other vehicles (when we had carburetors) I'd kick the throttle up onto the choke's cam and hold the idle speed up that way.
I think Darrell also had a great answer - you don't want to run something with that big a draw for long anyway as that sort of amperage will generate some real heat in the winch.
 

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Curious how much pull time/usage you have with the OEM battery? Assuming a winch can drain the battery quickly.

My Warn Platinum has a car battery voltage indicator on the remote. When used full blast at idle under load , the battery voltage indicator goes yellow pretty fast, but recovers when you let off on the winch. However, using "winch mode" with the tazer, which sets the idle at 2K rpm, the voltage indicator on the warn platinum remote stays green all the time. So, "winch mode" on the Tazer really helps to keep that electricity flowing for these thirsty winches - really a huge help.
 
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BuzzBee

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First off, thanks to everyone for the posts on routing the main power wires up to the battery. I went with the idea posted by khockey02. Will pay attention to any rub points and jacket the wire if needed.

Also, there is another way to think about winch sizing. If you go to a double line pull as your go-to method it will also reduce the electrical load on your vehicle sustantially, and you can size your winch closer to 1:1 of your wheeling (or loaded) weight. The mechanical advantage gives you an excellent result without going to a much larger winch. Just a thought.
 

Jimmij

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Here's what I did. From the winch, follow the passenger side frame rail and go up towards the battery (best done with the airbox removed). Below you can see the cable hanging before I routed it. Anderson plug is my solar connection, winch cable routing follows that same path..

Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? KIMG2019.JPG


Battery connection. Keep it clean.

Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? KIMG2019.JPG


Completed.

Jeep Gladiator Winch power cable routing? KIMG2019.JPG
What air horns did you purchase
 
 



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